OPINION:
Dean Karayanis’ op-ed about free speech includes a fragment of Dr. Martin Niemoeller’s well-known commentary about how the totalitarian Nazi regime came for opponents (“Fight back against Big Tech oligarchs before free speech disappears,” Web, July 8). However, back in 1967 and 1968 I had the privilege of hearing the reverend doctor preach during the Sunday chapel service at Grove City College’s Harbison Chapel. The first parts of his litany were slightly different from the usually encountered version, in a subtle yet powerful way that made it memorable enough to stay with me some 50 years.
“First they came for the Communists. We understood this and supported it.” You would have to familiar with the conditions in Germany following the abdication of the Kaiser to fully understand this. “Civil unrest” doesn’t do justice to the armed combat between different political groups and occasional criminal gangs that raged in many cities. Some former units of the German armed forces participated.
“Then they came for the Socialists. We didn’t understand this, but felt they must have had good reason.” Unease with the actions of the government didn’t begin until they came to groups further down the list. Oppression frequently starts with action against those who are popularly (and possibly truly) thought to be enemies of the state or social order. Then, once that objective is achieved, a new obstacle can be identified and dealt with in a similar manner.
The obstacle to progress doesn’t have to be a person or group. It may be a belief, concept or physical item. One need only look at North Korea or former East Germany to see where this can lead.
The following quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin ought to be over the entrance to every school: “Those who would trade freedom for safety will soon find they have neither.”
WILLIAM R. MOORE
Ladysmith, Va.
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